Page 78 of I Am Lioness

Jerking myself back the tiniest bit, I tugged on Lexi’s arm. If I pulled back even a millimeter, it would pop. She howled and seconds later, her free arm came down on the mat, tapping it frantically.

“THAT’S IT!!! YOU SAW IT, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!!! TAAAAAPPPPP OUTTTTTT!!!!”

Mayhem exploded throughout the arena.

I released Lexi’s arm and jumped up to my feet, throwing my arms up in the air. I did it, I fucking did it!

“FOR THE FORTH YEAR IN A ROW… FIERCE, UNTOUCHABLE, AND UNDEFEATED! YOUR VICTOR, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, BY SUBMISSION, HAAAZEELL LIOONNESS PERRRYYY!!!!”

I FUCKING DID IT!

“You did it, baby!” Knox roared beside my ear, sweeping me off my feet and crushing me against him.

I squeezed him and eased back, smiling brightly from ear to ear. “Can you believe it?!”

“Of course I can!” His smile was as wide as mine. “Once a champion, always a champion, and most importantly,forever my champion.”

Days after returningto L.A. from Seattle, Knox and I began packing up my apartment. Luis, Reyna, and Manny volunteered to help, and we were able to knock it all out in two short days.

We paid them with pizza, beer, and many a good laughs. As per our discussion on the flight back home, my furniture ended up in storage but I left Reyna my bed because she’d fallen in love with it. She was moving into my place within the next month or so and I figured it would be the perfect housewarming gift.

Ecstatic didn't quite cover her reaction when we walked through the empty apartment and she realized what I had done, engulfing me in a tight hug as she bounced us up and down.

Moving into Knox’s condo took a full day. By the time I unpacked the last box, I was completely drained. I fell on our bed in a heap and scrubbed my hands over my face.

My body felt worn and sore in places I didn’t even know one could be sore. Groaning, I stretched my arms high above my head, tempted to roll over and take a little nap, but a goblet of wine and a hot bath also sounded like heaven.

With renewed purpose, I took one last stretch before flattening the large box and throwing it at the top of the pile beside the master bedroom door. Grabbing my all my clothes off the bed—which were thankfully still on the hangers—I headed into the closet and fit them one by one into the small sliver of space still available.

Warm, strong arms came around my middle, soft lips pressing against my neck. “You done, baby?”

I hummed and leaning back into his chest, reaching behind me to thread my fingers into the longer strands of his hair. “Almost.”

He chuckled and trailed feather-light kisses from that overly sensitive spot beneath my ear to my shoulder, taking the last few hangers from my hand to hang them up, sparing a glance at the rack. “Now you're done.”

One large hand ran along the curve of my hip to the bottom swell of my ass, his fingers clenching tightly around the globe.

“I think we should celebrate and christen the tub,” he rasped, in that deep, husky baritone that promised nothing but deliciously filthy things to come.

My eyes fluttered shut and I dropped my head back against his shoulder. “You've lived here for years. You can't tell me you haven't made use of that thing.”

“Actually I haven't and right now, I'm glad I didn't,” he said, working my sweatpants down my hips.

I stopped him before they hit the ground and shimmied against him. “Go start the water. I’m gonna grab some wine.”

“Oohhh, I like where this is going.” He cooed, slapping my ass before he sauntering to the door, freezing right beneath the threshold. “Make sure you’re naked when you step foot into that bathroom, kitten.”

“Yes,Sir.” I smirked.

His chest rumbled and his eyes darkened dramatically. He pointed a finger at me. “It’s on.”

“It better be!” I called out after him as he disappeared into the en-suite.

Two hours later we were lying breathless on top of our bed, both sated and spent from our sex-a-thon in and out of the tub. Knox was blanketing me, my fingers running through his hair as I filled my lungs with air.

“Every time.” He panted.

“What now?” I asked, feeling my eyelids protest against remaining open any longer.

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